There were three reasons we were a little anxious leading up to our cruise on the Pearl last week. One, it was our first time cruising. Next, we were a gay family and didn't know if that would be an issue. Finally, we had a child - just how family friendly would it be?
For first time cruisers, this was a fantastic experience. The embarkation day was smooth and the process was quick and easy to understand. The staff were friendly from the getgo and made us feel welcomed and excited to begin our trip. From the first crew member we met until the day we walked off the ship, our 5 year old daughter was treated like a (and called :) Princess. A big shout out to our cabin steward Herbert to makes the best towel animals EVER! :)
We had friends recommend we book a mini-balcony suite because of travelling with our daughter and we are SOOOOO glad we took that advice. Our cabin was beautiful and spacious. We never felt crowded, my daugther could take baths and her bed was left set up as a bed (not tucked back as a couch) for the whole trip but we could easily get around it to the balcony. There was a flickering light in the bathroom that we mentioned to our steward when he brought our bags (we were into our room before 2 and our bags were delivered by 4.) He called down right away and then checked back in an hour and when he discovered it hadn't been fixed, he called again and maintenance were there within 10 minutes and it was all fixed up. The main bed was VERY comfy, the linens were soft and the pillows were great. Our daughters couch/bed was very firm but when we asked her if she wanted a topper, she said no and slept like a log the whole trip. I loved that there was a curtain that went across that part of the room so that she had her space and we had ours. That privacy was very nice.
Quite location, big bathroom with tub, lots of room for two adults and child, comfy bed, lovely view.